The present invention relates to a method of making a dense, highly impact resistive and/or thermally conductive diamond body.
The prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,236, which discloses a method of making a thermally stable, dense and electrically conductive diamond compacts. The method comprises infiltrating a mass of diamond crystals with a silicon infiltrant in the presence of boron under conditions comprising a temperature of not substantially above 1200 degree C. and a pressure of not substantially above 45 Kbar. The resulting compact contains diamond-to-diamond bonding. The boron can be provided in the form of boron-doped diamond. Alternatively, a boron-silicon alloy can be used for infiltrating boron-doped or undoped diamond. Further, boron can be added as elemental boron or B4C with silicon for infiltration. Alternatively, boron metal catalyst plus silicon infiltration can be used for boron-doped or undoped diamond. Combinations of these mass forming a network composed of silicon carbide by reaction of the silicon with diamond-carbon. The reaction leaves a sintered body composed of boron-doped diamond or boron compounds with diamond or a network of silicon carbide and silicon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,923 discloses that an abrasive compact with a substantially solid body is provided from a mass of abrasive particles which are bonded together on a particle-to-particle basis. A network of interstices is formed within the body by removing the metallic second phase by-product of a solvent catalyst sintering aid. The network of interstices is filled with the carbide by product of a non-catalyst sintering aid forming a solid body. A substrate is bonded to some of the particles and to some of the carbide filling the network of interstices.
Other references from the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,762 to Hara et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/366,706 to Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,068 to Dismukes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,107 to Cho et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,388 to Ringwood, which are all herein incorporated by reference for all they contain.